Workouts and Weight…

Well, BOO to you too thunderstorms!  Guess we won’t be doing our 10 mile race tonight:(  Going to have to make it a gym day and hopefully fit in a short outdoor run later before the storms start! 

I was really looking forward to the 10 miler for a few reasons…one being that I have been trying to reestablish a good running routine.  It seems like running is the only way I can consistantly get the results I want as part of my fitness plan.  Case in point, due to my work schedule, I’ve been doing a TON of cross training the last few months…I teach yoga 4 times a week, ballet fitness twice a week, and lift twice a week, in addition to at least 30 minutes of cardio 4-5 days a week (elliptical, calisthenics, house repair work, etc).  However, since March, the scale has slowly gone up…by 10 pounds (and then back down by 5 again, but still)!!!

Part of the issue has to do with food…for a few years there, after a big weight gain freshman year of about 30 lbs, I had a huge love/hate relationship with food.  I would exercise for hours trying to lose the weight, but be so famished I’d eat back all the work I had put in.  Then I realized if I just really really cut back, I lost A LOT and FAST.  This also became an unhealthy balance.  So I would swing back and forth between unhealthy habits, getting frustrated with my progress and overexercising one week, then restricting my food the next…I DID lose the weight, but at what cost?  I had a very unhealthy relationship with food and with my body!

Too big…. (5 years ago…40-50lbs heavier)

Too small…(Last fall…10 lbs less than I am now..)

Just right? (Last week…up 5-10 lbs up from last year…but is this just my body’s ‘right weight’?  I weighed this much before and was healthy and in shape…was I just not meant to be 10 lbs lighter than this?  Maybe my body is happier here…)

So this past year or two I’ve really made an effort to get back to a healthy balance.  Running enough that I enjoyed it and met my fitness goals, but not to the point of obsession or injuries, eating healthy foods and trying to increase my calorie limits to a healthy range, cross training a bunch with new fun fitness loves, like more dance and zumba, weight training, yoga, Pilates, etc…  I really am super proud of all the strides I’ve made!  I am much more balanced, happy, healthy, and I know I look better too. 

When I first saw the weight gain I thought Ugh.  Devastating.  But I’m determined to get through it and not let it affect my happiness.  I know I am happy and healthy…that’s a good starting point.  I also have been focusing a LOT on building strength, lifting a lot more than I had been…and we all know muscle weighs more than fat…another good step in a positive direction. 

I need less of these…

And more of these…

What now?  Well, I am going to make some small tweeks in my diet…first, cutting back on desserts.  I do have a sweet tooth, and even though I still eat a healthy dessert, I’m sure the fruit, almond butter and organic chocolate TWICE a day is a little much…I’m going to replace one of my sweets with a nice protein shake or some fruit.  I’m also going to try incorporating smoothies into my diet more…replacing a meal with a healthy fruit/veggie/and protein packed shake when I’m on the go.  And I’m sure getting back into a running routine is going to help too.

But the biggest change?  I’m going to do everything in my power to not get super stressed and upset about this.  I know that I am healthy at this weight, and I know that my body NEEDS the fuel from the healthy amount of food I eat to do all the AMAZING things it does for me every day.  I LOVE that my body can run 13.1 miles, can lift heavy weights and make me feel strong, can teach yoga classes and bring peace and calm to the people I am blessed to teach, can dance and make beautiful connections with music and movement….I LOVE my body, and I value it, and I am going to focus on THAT, not a scale.

Leading up to the 300 days…

So the hubster (my totally endearing nickname for the husband) doesn’t leave for another few weeks, so the 300 days haven’t officially started yet.  But I am busy gearing up for them.  We are trying to fit as much happiness and positive, fun things into our last few weeks as we can!  So why not commemorate these days too?

To start off, we are going to run the Naragansett 10 Miler Blessing of the Fleet Race this Friday after we get off work!  It is a great ocean-side race that I’ve always wanted to do.  I’m pretty behind on distance training, but I’ve been doing a lot of cross-training all summer so I know I can do it.  I may not keep up with my usual pace, but who knows, I may surprise myself.  That’s what happened when I did my half marathon last year without many distance runs leading up to it, and I finished under 2:20, keeping up with my usual tempo of around 10min/mile! 

(Smiling because I’m at mile one of 13 last fall…)

Other than that, I’m working on staying positive through my yoga practice, and learning how to give back through yoga.  I was so deeply inspired by my time at the Yoga Service Council’s first annual conference this May  at Omega Institute and all the amazing work that people are doing bringing yoga to underserved communities. 

I met so many amazing people there, including representatives from Yoga Activist.  I loved that they, along with the Yoga Service Council, provide support for new yoga service projects.  So, I took a leap and applied for a mat donation to start a yoga program for the foster kids at the adoption agency I am interning with…

And it worked!  Yoga Activist donated 18 mats that I have been using to teach weekly yoga classes to foster children at University of Rhode Island’s First Star Academy, through my internship agency Adoption RI.  The teens seem to enjoy learning more about yoga and meditation.  When surveyed a few weeks ago, they were so eloquent in wanting to learn more about yoga for various reasons…”to help clear my mind”, “to calm myself down”, “to learn to meditate and relax”, “to make my body healthy and more flexible”.  This past week, they were tired, so I gave them the option to nap as their meditation or engage in some slow flow yoga…3 of them actually wanted to practice the whole 40 minutes, while others meditated silentely, and others napped (hey, at least they were respectful, quiet, and in control of their own relaxation skills!)

What else have I been up to?  Well today was eventful at work…I took my supervisor’s Les Mills Body Pump lifting class, which always kicks my butt!  Plus I added extra weight to my bar, feeling super tough by the new dog tag necklace dear husband gave me the other day:)  The result?  I feel SORE, but strong.  Then we auditioned a new yoga teacher, who is a sweetheart, so at least I got a little bit of a stretch.  I am excited to go home and EAT and rest…a nice relaxing night with hubby and the pups sounds perfect!

Will update with race results soon!

First post… Here we go…

 

So I am starting 300 New Suns with the intention of making the most out of this upcoming year my husband and I are spending apart because of his redeployment.  Instead of feeling depressed and withdrawn, I want to focus on all of the positives and really motivate myself to go out and keep trying new things and making life one big adventure.  This is what I did on our last deployment apart, but I feel I need the added motivation this time since

A.) We are now married so it’s a little more emotional being apart,

B.)I’m super busy with grad school and internships and work, so I need to stay motivated and positve, and

C.) I have a tendency to get sad and depressed if I let myself dwell on being lonely/worried/anxious/etc, so I need to force myself to focus on the positivity!

 

I based my name on the Chris McCandless quote from Jon Krakauer’s book Into The Wild (if you haven’t read it, I suggest you do…it is a life-changing story):

“The very basic core of a man’s living spirit is his passion for adventure. The joy of life comes from our encounters with new experiences, and hence there is no greater joy than to have an endlessly changing horizon, for each day to have a new and different sun.”

 

 

This quote comes from a pivotal letter McCandless sends to his friend, encouraging him to go out and actually LIVE his life, versus living with routine and mild depression over the loss of his family, in the same funk he’s been in for years.  Later, this letter inspires the man to sell his house and belongings and move out into the desert, living an asectic life.  Now, that’s not my plan, but this quote has always motivated me to go out and try new things every day, to not get stuck in the same old boring routine, and to not feel pressured to live the typical ‘white picket fence’ life. I love the idea of every day and every sunrise being a fresh start and a new beginning…an opportunity to have an amazing and inspiring day, hence “300 New Suns”.

A little about me?  Well, I am in graduate school for counseling, I am interning with an adoption agency and a school, I work in the fitness field…at a gym as an administrative assistant and personal trainer, and at various studios as a yoga, Pilates, fitness, and dance teacher.  I love hiking, running, yoga, lifting, dance, music, and animals.  I rescue dogs through PAWS rescue in New England and have owned/rescued/fostered 7 dogs…currently we have two little brats. 

My husband is in the Army and we were married in June 2012.  While he is away, I am holding down the fort and my goals are to live life to the fullest, remain happy, calm, and positive!

Thanks for reading and following me along on my adventure for the year…the 300 days won’t officially be starting for another few weeks, but in the meantime, I will fill in all of my adventures, laying the groundwork for the year to come!

 

*As far as OPSEC and military confidentiality goes, the 300 days are not linked to any set schedule for my husband’s unit…they aren’t starting exactly when he gets anywhere or leaves for anywhere specific and they aren’t ending on his exact return home since those dates are confidential.*